Overview
Foz do Arelho is a huge sandy beach north of Peniche that picks up absolutely anything the Atlantic sends its way. A couple of small river mouths dot the shoreline and help shape good sandbanks, serving up both lefts and rights over sand. The trade-off for all that swell exposure is that the beach is very open to the wind, so conditions here live and die by the forecast.
When It Works
Swell arrives from anywhere between southwest and north, with northwest (NW) the best direction for lining up the banks. The beach works from 0.6 m / 2 ft to 2.4 m / 8 ft, which gives it a wide operating window before things get too small or too big. With so much raw Atlantic swell on offer, finding waves is rarely the problem; finding clean ones is.
Wind and Tide
Look for an east (E) wind to groom the lineup, and with the beach as wind-exposed as it is, those offshore days are the ones to chase. Tide is flexible: the banks can work through low, mid, and high, with a rising tide generally the better call.
Local Tips
This is a friendly spot for beginners, with plenty of open sand to spread out on. The river-mouth banks tend to see minimal crowds, so there is usually space to catch waves without jostling for position.
Access
Parking is easy, with a free car park plus roadside parking along the beach. There are showers, a lifeguard, a surf school, and a surf shop on hand, and camping nearby if you want to stay close to the waves.
